Effect of canola oil on meat quality and fatty acid profile of Araucano creole lambs during fattening period

This study investigated the effect of canola oil on meat quality of Araucano creole lambs. Twenty-four Araucano creole lambs (5 months of age) were used for this study. The lambs were randomly divided into two groups and fed ad libitum amount of diet consisting of concentrate (40%) and pea straw (60%) without added fat for the control group and with the addition of 50 mL of canola oil (three times per week; 150 mL a week) for the treatment group for a period of 90 days. The liveweight, physicochemical parameters (pH, intramuscular fat (IMF), colour, water holding capacity (WHC) and tenderness) and fatty acid profile of twenty-four Araucano creole lambs were assessed. Administering canola oil to Araucano creole lambs during the finishing diet did not show significant differences in liveweight between groups, although lamb from Canola group presented slightly higher liveweights compared to control group (32.20 vs. 33.89 kg, for control and Canola groups, respectively). Statistical analysis showed that lamb meat from the control group had lower (P < 0.001) WHC (lost: 14.57 ± 0.44%) than those from the canola group (lost: 11.42 ± 0.43%). Regarding tenderness, samples from Canola group presented slight lower values (5.90 vs. 6.15 kg/cm2, for Canola and control groups, respectively). The colour of the meat was also affected by canola oil, showing higher (P < 0.001) redness (17.90) and lower (P < 0.05) hue angle (34.90) in lambs from Canola group compared to the control one. Canola oil significantly modified the amount of IMF (4.65 vs. 5.65%, P < 0.05, for control and Canola groups, respectively). Regarding fatty acids, the effect canola oil in the diet increased the monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) (1665.08 vs. 2446.3 mg/100 g of meat, P < 0.001, for control and Canola groups, respectively) and the polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) (422.9 vs. 530.9 mg/100 g of meat, P < 0.01, for control and Canola groups, respectively). In addition, canola oil improved the n6/n3 ratio (5.42 vs. 4.64, P < 0.05, for control and Canola groups, respectively). Moreover, canola oil reduced thrombogenic index (TI) values (1.37 vs. 0.99, P < 0.001, for control and Canola groups, respectively). It was concluded that administering canola oil to lambs during fattening period could be an important strategy to improve the meat quality and may increase the amount of intramuscular fat with a healthier fatty acid profile (oleic acid, CLA and eicosapentaenoic acid).